Looking Past the Past
by Autobot StarRacer
Summary: Side/future story to Beyond Your Imagination. The war has ended and the autobots have come out victorious and now live in peace with the remaining decepticons. Peace? Yeah right. When StarRacer is attacked one night two seekers from Vos are chosen to be her guardians. But what happens when one gets a little too close to the femme? Warning: Fluff and OOCness common


**So this idea has been buzzing in my head for a couple weeks now so I just HAD to write it. If you haven't read Beyond Your Imagination I suggest reading it first so you'd know more about StarRacer and her past as a human/youngling. Warning: there is alot of OOCness in this story. Just sayin'.**

**Hope you enjoy! :)**

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StarRacer, daughter of the leader of Cybertron Optimus Prime, truly believed she was going to die that night. The war was over and the autobots had come out victorious and even allowed the surviving decepticons to decide whether or not they'd agree to peace. Luckily there was only a few who disagreed, who are now in the prison in Kaon, being guarded by Barricade and Prowl. StarRacer, about the equivalent of a 16 year old, was walking home from visiting her Aunt Arcee and Uncle Mirage. She didn't realize that she was going the wrong way until she accidentally turned into an abandoned dark alley. She groaned and went to leave but a large mech with menacing red optics was standing in her path.

"And where do you think you're going, pretty femme? Aren't you StarRacer, daughter of the pathetic Prime? What's a delicate flower like you doing out here all alone?" he purred. StarRacer shuddered at the wanting in his voice. She knew what he was after and she wasn't about to give into him so easily. She tried to push past him but he was stronger and he trapped her against the wall, nearly crushing her vocalizers in his massive servo. "Now, now, there's no need for that sweetspark."

"Get fragged!" StarRacer growled. She kicked at him and tried to get out of his grasp but she wasn't as strong as he was. It was obvious that he was a decepticon warrior during the war by his many scars and brute strength. His blood red optics terrified her to no extent. Memories of being captured by the decepticons as a youngling flashed through her processor. She fought harder and even screamed for help. Suddenly a click and the warming of a canon was heard. StarRacer looked over her assailant's shoulder to see Jazz, another law enforcer, aiming his canon at the back of the mech's helm.

"I suggest you put her down and leave before you become nothing more than a pile of burning scrap, if you know what's good for you." Jazz growled darkly. His accent he picked up from Earth was gone and the anger was like acid dripping into his voice. The mech scowled but released StarRacer and ran off. Instead of giving chase, Jazz helped StarRacer regain her balance as she began to cry about what happened. She couldn't believe that he did that to her! Jazz wrapped an arm around the young femme comfortingly. "C'mon, Starr, let's get ya home. Bossbot and 'Lita are probably worried 'bout ya."

"O-Okay…by the way, why does your accent come and go?" StarRacer asked. Jazz chuckled and shrugged. He walked her the rest of the way home. He wasted no time in explaining to Optimus what had happened. Elita One took StarRacer to her room to hear the story from her. StarRacer ended up curling up into her Carrier's form, seeking comfort. "Carrier, I was so scared. I didn't know what he'd do to me!"

"Shh sweetspark, it's okay. He can't hurt you now." Elita whispered. She was going to make sure that the mech that petrified her daughter would be caught. Optimus walked in after talking with Jazz about the best course of action. They agreed that it would be best to assign a body guard to StarRacer until the mech was caught and thrown into prison. Optimus helped his sparkmate calm their daughter until she fell into recharge. When they returned to their own quarters they discussed who should be assigned.

**In Vos, the seeker city**

Stormchaser, son of Thundercracker, walked down the streets of the city his uncle ran with his friend Nightshade. He heard all about the war through stories since he was only a youngling at the time. By the sound of the stories he was surprised that his Uncle Starscream agreed to have peace with the autobots. Nightshade suddenly stopped talking and looked at a sign posted on the wall they were passing by. Stormchaser, who hadn't talked much since his sparkparents deaths, remained silent but rose an optic ridge at his friend.

"The Prime's daughter was attacked last night by an unknown ex-decepticon. They're currently asking for any able mechs, autobot or decepticon, willing and able to be her guardian to come immediately to Iacon." Nightshade informed after he read the notice carefully. Stormchaser's optics widened and read it to make sure that he hadn't misheard his friend. He couldn't believe that someone would actually attack the daughter of the Prime. He clenched his fists and narrowed his optics.

"I'm going." He stated sternly. Nightshade looked over at his friend with a smirk and glimmering optics. Stormchaser was naturally protective over femmes, especially younger ones. He didn't understand why anyone would treat them like dirt. It was how Thundercracker and Lunafire raised him. Nightshade put a servo on Stormchaser's shoulder and shook his helm.

"I'll come with in case you need a servo. But I think we should talk to Starscream about what you're planning. Besides, I think he misses hearing you speak. You are his only nephew after all and he doesn't have his brothers anymore since they died in the war." Nightshade suggested. Stormchaser frowned at the mention of his uncle. He knew about Starscream's past as a decepticon, and it wasn't a pretty one. "Let's go."

**In Iacon**

StarRacer silently followed her sparkparents to the place arranged for meeting the possible guardians. Arcee, Chromia, Ironhide, and Mirage also showed up to help with the decision. Chromia and Ironhide's youngling was at home with a sparklingsitter. Arcee was currently carrying her and Mirage's first sparkling so she was sitting down most of the time. The trauma was still there in StarRacer's spark, even with the reassurance from her friends and family. Jazz frowned when he saw that there was only about half a dozen mechs and not one of them was an ex-decepticon. He actually was hoping that at least a few of them would be jumping at the chance to show that they truly wanted peace.

"Jazz, is this everyone?" Optimus asked. The ex-saboteur nodded slightly. Optimus was about to begin when two seekers ran in, looking out of breath. StarRacer couldn't help but snicker at the fact that they had to run to get here but were still late. Optimus looked over at her and smiled, relieved that she was at least momentarily distracted from her fear.

"Our deepest apologies, my Prime. We traveled here from Vos in hopes of aiding in the protection of Lady StarRacer." Stormchaser explained as he and Nightshade bowed in respect. StarRacer looked down in embarrassment at the title given to her. Jazz chuckled from his place, but stopped when the other mechs who showed up glared at the seekers. He turned to Optimus and nodded for him to begin. Stormchaser and Nightshade listened intently as Optimus explained the expectations alongside Elita One. StarRacer shifted uncomfortably in her spot as the meeting continued on. She wondered who would end up being her guardian.

"StarRacer, why don't you go talk to a few of them while OP, Elita, and Jazz deliberate. Maybe you'll end up choosing the one." Arcee suggested. StarRacer's doorwing twitched nervously but she nodded and walked up to talk to the guests. A few of them tried to make themselves look tougher but StarRacer didn't find it cool at all. Among them were the twins, who she was glad to see. She kept glancing over at the only mechs in the group with red optics. It made her slightly uneasy that they might be ex-decepticons but she knew that everyone was to be treated as an equal. StarRacer vented slightly before walking over to them. When they saw her approach they bowed slightly.

"Good morning, Lady StarRacer." Stormchaser greeted. StarRacer smiled shyly at them as Nightshade gave his own greeting. Something about Stormchaser was familiar, but she couldn't tell what. They didn't seem to have the proud strong aura like the others…they seemed more humbled. She could also tell that they were young, probably grew up in the war like her.

"Good morning. So…uh…what are your guys' names?" StarRacer asked. Stormchaser and Nightshade tried to introduce themselves at the same time but failed. StarRacer couldn't help but chuckle as the argued slightly. It definitely reminded her of the twins. She wondered if they were brothers or something. "Are you guys twins? Because you act exactly like Sides and Sunny over there the way you argue."

"Like I would be related to this bucket of bolts." Nightshade laughed. Stormchaser shot him a glare but remained silent. "I'm Nightshade, a seeker from Vos. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, but no I wasn't a con. I grew up a neutral with red optics, my sparkparents died a long time ago. This is my friend Stormchaser. He's Starscream's nephew and-"

"Wait, you're Starscream's nephew?" StarRacer asked. Her optics narrowed at even the mention of the name. He'd put her through so much scrap during the war. It made her wonder sometimes how he was so different than the Starscream in Techna's dimension. Stormchaser lowered his gaze and nodded.

"M-My greatest apologies for whatever he or my Creator, Thundercracker, has done. I am like you, StarRacer. I too was born in the war and grew up knowing nothing more than it." Stormchaser admitted. StarRacer's optics softened as she realized that Thundercracker and Skywarp had been killed early on in the war. Now she understood why he seemed so familiar. His build was very similar to Starscream's, but he had more of a dark blue highlighting's than all silver, unlike Starscream. She placed a servo on his shoulder comfortingly with a smile.

"No, I should probably apologize for reacting like that. It's just that Starscream and I don't exactly have a peaceful past." StarRacer admitted. Nightshade smirked from the side, wondering what was going through Stormchaser's processor. They had both expected a spoiled femme who thought she was better than everyone else but she was completely different. Optimus, Elita, and Jazz were watching the scene from a distance. Elita automatically knew who the mech was, but she was far from suspicious of him. The three friends looked at each other and nodded, knowing who to choose.

"Everyone we will finish decided today, but for now you may all go home. We will contact you with our decision tomorrow morning." Optimus announced. StarRacer turned to look up at him with curious optics. She had a feeling they'd already decided but she couldn't tell who it was yet. She turned back to her new friends.

"I should probably go. Bye Storm', 'Shade." StarRacer said before running off to her sparkparents. Stormchaser and Nightshade were surprised by their nicknames but shrugged it off. They began their walk to a local hotel, unknowingly being watched by a mech with a visor covering his optics. Jazz smirked and thought about how well things were going. He'd heard StarRacer use nicknames for them. She was automatically comfortable around them which proved to be a good thing. He didn't know why the twins even showed up. They mainly argued amongst themselves, but at least StarRacer got a good laugh out of it.

"Those two really know how to show respect." Elita commented from her place next to Optimus. They were currently waiting for StarRacer to show up so she could give her input. Prime, however, was more cautious about the mech. He knew about Thundercracker's past with Elita and he didn't like the fact that the son of TC wanted to become StarRacer's guardian. Jazz knew what he was thinking and pushed himself off of the wall and his visor dimmed ever so slightly.

"Bossbot Ah know what yer thinkin'. Ya never know, maybe Stormchaser is different than TC. He did die when he was only a youngling after all." Jazz stated. Optimus frowned, knowing that this was true, but he still didn't trust him that well. "Ah did a background check on 'em. Nightshade was a neutral in the war, sparkparents unknown. He neva got arrested 'cording to Prowler, so he's good. Stormchaser is da son of TC, but he was raised by 'Screamer after Megatron blew him and Skywarp up. He wasn't arrested either."

"We should talk to StarRacer first and see what she thinks of them." Elita suggested. She hadn't told Optimus the full truth about her past with Thundercracker, and she was slightly scared to. Suddenly StarRacer came with a smile on her face, the first they've seen since last night. "So how was talking to the mechs?"

"Ugh most of them were like Uncle Ironhide with his canons, only they tried to look tougher but failed. The twins were a sight for sore optics I gotta admit. Those two seekers from Vos, Stormchaser and Nightshade, they were surprisingly the most fun to talk to. Especially when they loosened up a little with the crazy respect thing." StarRacer reported. That definitely confirmed everyone's suspicions, she felt more comfortable around the seekers. "it's weird to think that Stormchaser is related to Starscream. He's more…respectful and easier to talk to."

"Well at least he's not as self-absorbed." Jazz chuckled. StarRacer rolled her optics with a smile. She was now taller than him and it was weird to think that she used to think he was so tall when he first landed on Earth. The thought of the blue and green planet made her sad. Jack and June were long gone, her human family.

**With Stormchaser and Nightshade**

"Stormchaser, Nightshade, you're needed immediately at Optimus' place." Mirage stated after the two seekers opened the door. He had been sent by Optimus and Elita to bring them. They wasted no time in following him down the streets of Iacon to the Prime's household. They half expected a grand housing unit but it was a very simple place. They were greeted by Optimus, Elita, StarRacer, Jazz, Chromia, and Ironhide. Arcee was at home so she wasn't present. "Optimus I'm going back home to be with Arcee, okay?"

"Of course, old friend." Optimus said with a smile. He was happy for them about the expected sparkling. Mirage nodded and left for his own home. Optimus turned his attention back to the nervous seekers. They didn't know why they were summoned by the Prime himself. "Stormchaser, Nightshade, if you'd accept the offer, you may both be StarRacer's guardians."

"T-Thank you sir!" Nightshade and Stormchaser exclaimed together. StarRacer wondered what to expect with these new mechs around. Jazz wondered who exactly Nightshade was. It put him on edge that there were no records of his sparkparents. He'd have to more in-depth searching on him later. But for now he was just happy to know that StarRacer was in capable servos. She was like a little sister to him. StarRacer went over to talk to the mechs alone.

"So tell me about yourselves." StarRacer suggested. She wanted to know more about them now that she would be spending a lot of time with them. Nightshade and Stormchaser looked at each other, wondering where to start. "Uh…how did you guys meet? I mean, you act like you've known each other for a long time."

"Well, I was orphaned when I was a youngling and brought up by my Uncle Starscream since Uncle Skywarp was also offlined. After he left for Earth I was basically abandoned until Nightshade and his Carrier found me. So you could say we're like adopted brothers." Stormchaser explained. StarRacer smiled, thinking about how she was adopted as a human and was Jack's adopted sister.

"We never made it to Earth though, what's it like? Did the…uh…humans know about you guys or were you a secret?" Nightshade asked. StarRacer couldn't help but laugh at his question. He reminded her so much of Miko. The seekers gave her a confused look but she waved it off. She thought back to her time on Earth.

"Well, when I was a sparkling Creator and Carrier sent me away to be protected from the decepticons since I would've been a target. I was turned human and was adopted by a human family who were nice except for the father. He was really abusive towards me and eventually 'divorced' June, the mother, when I was 5. Jack was my 'brother' and he was really protective. He always listened to me when I had a nightmare or a vision as a sparkling on Cybertron. They still treated me like family when I was turned back bot. We were a government secret until our base was blown up and Jasper was taken over, but we at least won the war to save Earth. I laughed because you sounded like my friend Miko. She always was asking questions nonstop." StarRacer explained. The bots listened with a great amount of interest. "It was a beautiful planet. Sometimes I wish I could visit, but it'd be hard knowing that my friends and family I knew there are dead."

Jazz watched in the shadows and smirked. Things were going better than he could ever hope for. The new bots were fitting in perfectly with StarRacer, in return StarRacer was being welcoming to Nightshade and Stormchaser. Jazz went to do more investigating, thinking about the new arrivals. He knew things were about to change big time. But he had no idea how drastic the changes would really be.

StarRacer snuck out of her room late one night. The air was crisp and cold to her. She looked around the small garden behind her home, hidden in the shadows. The attacker had been caught a long time ago, but Optimus had allowed Nightshade and Stormchaser to stay and be StarRacer's guardians and friends. Arcee had her sparkling a couple days ago and was resting at home. StarRacer couldn't help but see how beautiful her little cousin was. It was a mech named Silverstreak. Arcee and Mirage were so proud of their little sparkling.

"Sorry I'm late, Starr." A quiet voice said from behind her. StarRacer nearly jumped out of her armor and turned to see Stormchaser walking up. She smiled and hugged him tightly. She never told her sparkparents or really anyone about their relationship, only Nightshade knew and he swore not to tell. "How long are we going to keep this a secret? I know your Creator doesn't exactly trust me because of my family's past but won't he understand that I'd never hurt you?"

"I hate hiding this from them too, but I'm scared that they'll make you and 'Shade leave. I promise I'll find some way to tell them." StarRacer sighed. Stormchaser smiled and kissed her gently. She melted into his arms and didn't want to leave him. When they broke the kiss she laid her helm on his chassis with a heavy sigh. "How on Cybertron are we going to tell them?"

"We already know." A voice growled from nearby. They jumped and Stormchaser instinctively got in front of her. They froze at the sight of Optimus and Elita glaring at them with Jazz standing off to the side with a frown. StarRacer tried to stammer out an explanation but Optimus raised a servo so he could continue. "Jazz, make sure that Stormchaser and Nightshade return to Vos _tonight._"

"But Creator you can't!" StarRacer pleaded, finally finding her voice. Jazz's frown deepened but he grabbed Stormchaser by the arm and dragged him off. Stormchaser was too shocked to argue or even resist. Tears formed in StarRacer's optics as he left. She turned back to her sparkparents with pleading optics. "Creator please don't make them leave!"

"We'll talk about this when we get inside, StarRacer." Elita stated. StarRacer sighed and followed them inside, knowing that she was going to get the lecture of a lifetime. But that's not what she was worried about. She was scared that she was never going to see Stormchaser or Nightshade again because of this.

"StarRacer, he's the son of Thundercracker! A decepticon who's also the brother of Starscream who had nearly offlined you!" Optimus scolded. StarRacer narrowed her optics at him. He was going against everything he said after the war ended. He wanted everyone to be treated as an equal, not judged on the past.

"He didn't choose his Creator! Why does it matter if everyone's supposed to be treated as a Cybertronian, not autobot or decepticon? And Starscream _freed _me. He didn't hurt me when I was captured! Please don't take Stormchaser away from me! I…I love him." StarRacer's voice got quieter at the end. Jazz had come back in and froze at her words. He resisted the urge to smirk and merely watched silently.

"StarRacer, you're not allowed to see him and that is final." Optimus ordered. Jazz's spark nearly stalled. This was not good, especially for Starr and Storm. Elita nodded in confirmation, causing the air in the room to grow thick and hard to breathe. Tears rolled down StarRacer's cheekplates as she tried to beg for him to change his processor. "Not another word, StarRacer."

"Then how about three? I HATE YOU!" StarRacer screamed. She ran out of the room leaving her sparkparents stunned. Jazz grew angry and stormed up to his leader. He didn't care that he could get in deep scrap, this was too important to ignore. He shoved Optimus harshly, his visor turning a dark red. Elita covered her mouth with a servo as she let out a small gasp.

"You fragging IDIOT! Do you know what you just did? You think you're protecting her but you only hurt her even more! I've been watching them ever since Stormchaser and Nightshade were assigned to be her guardians! Who cares if he's the son of a con? He was raised by _neutrals_ with Nightshade as his adoptive brother. He understood what StarRacer went through at Reyna and you just separated. You've just lost the respect of your daughter as well as mine!" Jazz spat. He'd lost his accent during the rant and didn't care. Jazz turned to Elita with equal anger. "I suggest telling her the truth about your past with Thundercracker before she never listens to either of you ever again. If not then I will personally help her leave Iacon and get to Vos to be with them!"

"Jazz…" Elita started. She sighed and realized that the silver mech was right. Optimus was torn between anger and regret. He realized that he was acting like an aft. He groaned and facepalmed knowing that StarRacer really did hate him. Elita looked over at him with sad optics. "I'm going to talk to her. Thank you, Jazz."

"Anything to help little Starr." Jazz replied. He remained in the room to talk to Optimus while Elita left for StarRacer's room. When she arrived she could hear soft crying coming from the other side of the door. She knocked on the door but there was no answer so she opened it. StarRacer was sitting on her berth crying into her servos. Seeing her only daughter in pain like that was killing Elita. She sat down next to her causing the younger femme to freeze.

"I remember at Jack's wedding you completely freaked out on Miko. You never expected them to actually fall for each other. Opposites attract apparently, and they proved it. Being a Carrier you never want to have to think about your sparkling growing up, falling in love, and leaving you. But I guess that's why Optimus and I acted the way we did." Elita commented. She rubbed StarRacer's back soothingly.

"I love him Carrier, why can't you see that? He's never hurt me or done anything wrong. He treats everyone with respect and doesn't raise his voice unless absolutely necessary. He's the only mech who has ever touched my spark like this. I get this weird feeling in my spark whenever I'm around him. I don't know what it means but I actually…like it." StarRacer explained. Elita's spark sunk slightly, she knew exactly what that feeling was.

"Remember when we were on Earth and at one point Optimus, Ironhide, and Mirage wouldn't talk to or even look at us?" Elita asked. StarRacer nodded numbly. No one told her exactly what happened but Mirage had almost called off the bonding, scaring everyone. "Truth is your aunts and I grew up in lower-class Kaon. Our sparkparents were nobles that were in a bad situation. They made an arranged bonding between Starscream's trine and us. I was supposed to bond with Thundercracker. They were angry because we never told them earlier or that Chromia nearly offlined because we refused. We barely got to finish our story when Ratchet literally welded their afts to a berth. Truth is Thundercracker helped us run to Iacon because he was in love with Stormchaser's Carrier."

"Then why can't you trust Stormchaser?" StarRacer snapped, Elita sighed and pulled her into a tight hug. StarRacer really didn't want to lose Stormchaser, or Nightshade for that matter. They both had a special place in her spark, but Storm was different. He understood her and wasn't as cocky as Nightshade. He got along with her family and friends and became friends with them. Elita pulled back after minute to look into her daughter's optics.

"That weird feeling in your spark around him has a meaning. It's your sparks calling out to each other, a spark calling. I'll explain everything later, but first we have two seekers on their way to Vos to catch up to." StarRacer's optics lit up brighter as she stared at her Carrier in shock. Elita stood and offered her a servo up, which she gladly accepted. When they got outside both transformed into Cybertronian motorcycles and drove down the quiet streets of Iacon, praying that they'd catch up before they made it to Vos.

**With Stormchaser and Nightshade**

When they made it a few miles outside of Iacon Stormchaser collapsed near a boulder with a painful sigh. Nightshade studied his figure closely, but found only sadness in his features. Stormchaser couldn't believe they were kicked out of Iacon just because he fell in love with StarRacer. He couldn't understand why the Prime wouldn't listen when StarRacer tried to explain the truth. Nightshade sighed and sat next to him. They began talking about what to do next since they didn't want to return to Vos and they were exiled from Iacon. They heard the roars of two motorcycle engines and stood to prepare for whatever was thrown at them. Well they were definitely surprised when one of the motorcycles transformed and tackled Stormchaser in a hug. Elita transformed but merely walked up to the group.

"S-StarRacer?" Stormchaser gasped. His spark filled with joy as he stared at the femme. Nightshade smirked at them. They hadn't been separated for more than two hours and they were this excited to see each other? Well then again they weren't expecting to see each other ever again because of what Optimus had said. Elita waited for them to separate before finally joining the group.

"Stormchaser, I'm sorry for how Optimus and I reacted. Thundercracker and I don't have the best of pasts together, but we shouldn't have allowed it to separate you and StarRacer. We didn't realize it until Jazz literally screamed it in our faceplates that you are important to our daughter, you and Nightshade. You both are always welcomed in Iacon, and you have my permission to be with StarRacer so long as you don't hurt her." Elita stated. Nightshade looked away from everyone shamefully and it didn't go unnoticed. "Nightshade, what's wrong?"

"I…I can't go back, I'm sorry. You had every right to be suspicious of me. I wasn't just some orphaned neutral during the war. Only my Carrier was a neutral, my Creator became a well-known decepticon." Nightshade confessed. Optimus and Jazz drove up, finally arriving to be in the conversation. When they transformed Nightshade couldn't bring himself to look at the Prime. "The truth is…my Creator was actually Megatron, leader of the decepticons."

"I knew there was something more about you than I could find out." Jazz grumbled. Everyone stared at Nightshade in shock. Jazz stepped forward with a frown. "And now I know what happened between your sparkparents. You were a sparkling when the war started and when Megatron became the leader of the decepticons Solarflare, your Carrier who was also a seeker, fled and became neutral to protect you. To ensure that Megatron never found either of you she broke their bond and remained in hiding. Am I right?"

"Everything he says is true. My Carrier offlined a long time ago but it didn't affect Creator at all because of the severed bond. Prime, I'm your nephew. And StarRacer, I'm your cousin." Nightshade confirmed. StarRacer stood in shock for a moment before smiling softly. She wrapped her new-found cousin in a tight hug.

"Although it's troubling that you've hidden this from us, I will trust you enough to allow you to remain in Iacon." Optimus stated as he walked closer. Nightshade smiled and agreed to return to Iacon. Everyone began to head back home but Optimus stopped StarRacer. "I'm sorry, StarRacer, I shouldn't have acted that way towards Stormchaser. I should've been supported of your relationship. I hope you'll forgive me."

"I'll never hate you Creator." StarRacer responded with teary optics. She hugged him before they began to head home. StarRacer was glad to finally able to be with Stormchaser without the fear of her sparkparents' disapproval. Eventually did bond and had a seeker femme name Starlight. Her uniqueness was showed through her multi-colored optics. Red mixed with gold and blue for a fantastic mix of color. And you can guess what happens next.

They lived happily ever after.

The end.

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**Tada! Wow that was long! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Review please! :)**


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